Month: November 2016

Statistics show that during this time of the year more family feuds begin, divorces and suicides go up, more people die from natural causes, there are more bankruptcies, gambling debts, psychiatrists’ patients suffer regressions etc…..

Have you ever considered why???? There is pressure to be perfect! To buy the most expensive presents, you have to go on holidays etc………

But are we missing the point?????

THE ENEMY IS FRANTICALLY AT WORK ESPECIALLY DURING CHRISTMAS AND EASTER !!! AFTER ALL, GOD HAD A PLAN TO SAVE MANKIND, THE ENEMY DIDN’T LIKE THAT!!!!

At Christmas and Easter people feel the need to go to church more and pray. People come together as families to celebrate, people are generally happier and want to spend more time with friends, they give more to others, they give to the poor. So the enemy feels under threat and what does he do????? He fights harder!!!!

When Jesus came into the world, Satan lost his power because Jesus overcame death through the cross. Jesus is now ruler of this universe.

The enemy hates the thought of Jesus Christ. God wanted to live among us, so He gave us His Son Jesus Christ because we needed to be saved, saved from the snares of the evil one, saved from eternal damnation. Satan is often referred to as:- the deceiver, the accuser, the father of lies, the prince of /power of darkness etc.

in Luke 10:18. Jesus also said that his mission on earth was “to defeat the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Satan has the advantage over us in that he is an invisible powerful spirit. One of his greatest tricks on us is to convince so many of us that he doesn’t even exist,

We should all know that whenever we sin seriously, satan and his devils get a toehold on our life, and the lives of our family members.

Since satan has finally figured out that he cannot get at God, he goes for His children here on earth – US!!!. It’s no different than the mafia knowing that it can hurt you worse if it kills your kids. However, lucky for us that Jesus established a Church here on earth that regularly dispenses sanctifying grace to us, which is the only way we can defeat satan.

Satan knows our weaknesses and he will start with those. The sense of satan knowing that a family member has gambling issues, alcohol and drug addictions, pornography, infidelity etc…satan will use these weaknesses in others and harass people to break families apart.

DON’T PANIC!! YOU CAN ENGAGE THE POWER OF JESUS CHRIST. Jesus Christ taught us:-

Repentance,

Forgiveness,

Prayer

ALL THESE WILL KEEP THE ENEMY AT BAY.

JESUS IS OUR HOPE AND OUR SALVATION!!!

So during this advent season ( 4 weeks before Christmas) look to Jesus and his disciple- Bishop Oscar Romero who left us with this quote:-

Like this:

Fear of the Lord is something I feel has gone out of fashion or is “too conservative” to think, some of my contemporaries have told me. Today, society is bombarded with media that is conditioning us to think that we need this or that to make our lives better and easier such as I PHONES, I PADS, I TUNES, YOU TUBE, ME BANK, ETC.. Liposuction here, a facelift and tuck here or just…..to ‘Follow your heart.” IT’S ALL ABOUT I AND ME, MYSELF AND I.

All these things keep us away from God. Our eyes are not on God, our eyes are fixed on worldly things, God is not at the centre, rather it’s on the ME and I.

What about the ‘we’ ‘He’ or ‘Him’ ?

People have forgotten that this life is a test, that it’s good to abstain and go without, that we sometimes need to sacrifice or give up things to help us grow stronger and respect the fact that things are never going to be exactly as we would like them. Did Jesus not wear a crown of thorns?

Fear of the Lord is not about being fearful of God, it’s not a servile fear whereby a person serves God simply because he fears punishment. Or a fear that God doesn’t love you or that you aren’t good enough. It’s that healthy fear of the Lord, respect, that awe of God and wonder that we need to bring back into our lives. This gift enables a person “to avoid sin and attachment to created things out of reverence and love of God. Fear of the Lord means to have a profound respect for the majesty of God who is the supreme being.

People have forgotten that God is in control, that He giveth and taketh, that He doesn’t want us to fix our eyes on the worldly things, because they won’t bring us happiness. Happiness comes from within, happiness comes when your heart is at peace, happiness comes in knowing who you are in Christ and trusting God and Jesus Christ to provide you with what you need.

God loves you unconditionally, God is there for you, God wants you to spend some time with Him and His Son Jesus in prayer and in relationship with them.

How do I do that you might ask? Well… you can start by shifting your thinking, pray to the Holy Spirit to infill you afresh with His gifts, to focus on relationships, on what is good and praiseworthy, on what is pleasing to God. Now some sacrifices are needed here, but it’s for the greater good.